


eighteen

by connabeth



Series: Something Permanent [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Nothing explicit, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25231432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connabeth/pseuds/connabeth
Summary: A fluffy eighteenth birthday fic involving cake, rollercoasters, and tattoos. Dedicated to the queen of my heart, Annabeth Chase. Happy 27th!
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: Something Permanent [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748083
Comments: 20
Kudos: 142
Collections: favorite on PJO





	eighteen

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be 3-4k, but it got a little out of hand. I scrambled to write all this today so sorry in advance for mistakes. Enjoy the fluff!

Annabeth blearily blinked her eyes open and squinted as they adjusted to the bright rays of morning light shining unforgivingly on her bunk through the large casement windows of her cabin. She quietly groaned and stretched her limbs, rolling her wrists and ankles around before sitting up and yawning. Some of her siblings were already up while the younger ones were still burrowed in their blankets and pillows. She figured she might as well head down to the showers before breakfast, considering Percy had told her he had made big plans for the day. She wasn’t sure what that meant and honestly, knowing him, a part of her was just as scared as she was excited to find out.

“Morning, ‘beth. Happy birthday,” Malcolm said with a soft smile when he caught her eye. “So, how does it feel to be an adult?”

“Thanks, Mal. And I feel like I’ve been an adult for years.”

He laughed. “Fair enough.”

As the rest of her siblings woke up, she rifled through her trunk, trying to find a presentable outfit that was cuter than a typical camp shirt and jean shorts. Annabeth normally didn’t give a second thought to her appearance; sometimes she just didn’t have the time or energy to spare and Percy swore up and down she was the hottest thing he’d ever even when she was beaten and bloodied on the battlefield. She took care of herself to the extent everyone else did, but her efforts didn’t usually go beyond that. She admired girls that put in the time and effort to look their best every day because, honestly, it seemed  _ exhausting _ . But sometimes she just wanted to  _ feel _ pretty for herself, regardless of what anyone else thought. And today was one of those days considering it was her eighteenth birthday and she would be spending the day at her boyfriend’s side. Annabeth settled on a pair of army green tie-waist shorts she thought flattered her figure. She also pulled out a lacy white V-neck off-the-shoulder top Piper had forced her to buy. The outfit would show off a little midriff, but Annabeth didn’t train her ass off to not be proud of her abs.

Before she left for the showers, her siblings, who all had woken up, insisted they sing her “Happy Birthday” and she stood there awkwardly as her lips twitched up into an embarrassed smile. She never really understood what you were supposed to do while people sang you “Happy Birthday”, but she appreciated the sentiment. 

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After showering, changing, and wrangling her hair into somewhat nice-looking curls, she walked over to the Poseidon cabin to pick up Percy and head to the dining pavilion for breakfast. She knocked on the door, and waited a few moments, but she got no response. Sighing, she rolled her eyes. He was probably still asleep. Annabeth entered the cabin only to find his bunk empty, sheets in their usual disarray and clothes strewn across the floor. A surge of panic immediately welled up swallowing any notion of logic or rationality in her brain. He couldn’t be gone.  _ Not again _ .

_ Stop _ , she commanded herself.  _ Breathe _ .  _ Think _ . He could have just left early or gone down to the beach like he did to think. She caught sight of his laundry hamper and let out a sigh of relief, the tension leaving her body all at once, as she noticed last night’s pajamas on top of the pile. He had been awake this morning. She cursed herself for jumping to the worst possible conclusion so quickly and turned to leave, a little disappointed he hadn’t waited for her.

She strolled to the dining pavilion where she was greeted by all her friends gathered around the Poseidon table, large grins on their faces.

“Happy Birthday,” they chorused. They stood around a blue and silver cake with “ _Happy Birthday, Wise Girl_ ” written in neat cursive and two big **1** and **8** candles on top. She was almost sure Percy had not written that by himself.

Speaking of, she didn’t see him in the little crowd in front of her. After thanking them, cheeks turning a cute shade of pink at all the attention, she opened her mouth to ask where Percy was.

Her train of thought was cut off when a familiar pair of strong, tan arms wrapped around her waist and squeezed her tightly as a wet kiss was placed on her blushing cheeks. Percy’s lips trailed down her neck placing soft kisses sporadically, until he finally looked up at her face to take in her soft, giddy smile. He momentarily forgot he was in front of all their friends when he spun her around in his arms and pressed a sound, lingering kiss to her plump, pink lips and pulled away to whisper, “Happy birthday, baby.”

He leaned back and his breath caught in his chest, as if just realizing how good she looked. Her tan skin  _ glowed _ in the summer sun, the miles of toned, long legs and sliver of midriff on display making his throat go dry. The sunshine lit up her beautiful golden curls from behind, only adding to her ethereal glow, making it hard for Percy to formulate a sentence. Her sharp collarbone and shoulders were also on display, the red coral pendant he had given her almost two years ago resting at her throat. Her stunning stormy grey eyes caught the light in a way that made them look multidimensional, reflecting the blue of the sky and the green of the grass. He found himself thinking for the millionth time how he had gotten the most amazing, beautiful girl he’d ever known to fall in love with him, but he learned not to question his luck. The outfit wasn’t her usual style, but she looked too good for words and he told her so once he found his voice.

She accepted his compliment with another one of her endearing blushes and reciprocated the sentiment. Percy had tried to do his part to look nicer than usual for Annabeth, donning a pair of light grey ripped jeans (that made his butt look  _ great _ , according to his girlfriend) and a snugly fitting dark green shirt that did wonders to highlight his muscle definition. His hair was messy and windswept as usual, and his startlingly bright sea green eyes sparkled with mischief. His trident industrial piercing glinted in the light and gods, who gave him the right to be so  _ hot _ ? And of course, there was that jawline that could cut glass. Annabeth pulled herself together before she could get lost in his disarmingly good looks again.

“Did you make this whole cake yourself?” she asked him, already knowing the answer.

“I baked it myself while some of the others hung around,  _ not helping at all _ ,” he replied with a pointed look in said friends’ direction. “But you know I can’t write in cursive for shit so Clarisse did the piping.”

She was a little surprised that Clarisse had cursive that neat and flowery, but she was touched.

“It  _ is _ the nickname that I came up with for you,” Clarisse piped up, “and he stole.”

Percy rolled his eyes with a fond grin. “It sounds better when I say it. You can still call her Princess.”

“Please don’t,” Annabeth muttered.

“Sorry, Princess, that’s not up to you,” Clarisse responded smugly. Annabeth cursed Percy in her head for reminding Clarisse of her other nickname.

They went through the whole ordeal of singing “Happy birthday” yet again, lighting the candles, making a wish, and cutting a cake. When Percy told her to make a wish, for the first time her mind drew a blank. In the past years, the world was always hanging in the balance, someone’s life was always at risk, there was the constant threat of impending doom. Her wishes were always that her friends (mainly Percy) stayed alive and safe, that she could convince Luke to change, that she could stop the war, that she could keep the wonderful family she had found. Now, the world wasn’t at the risk of ending (as far as she knew, but who knows with all these new pantheons) and there were no prophecies looming over their heads.  _ I just want everything to stay like this _ , she thought. With her and Percy safe and happy, looking towards a bright future, not plagued by the stress and fear of war, and their smiling friends surrounding them. For the first time in a long time, things were looking up for everyone. She just wanted to maintain this peace. She closed her eyes and blew out her candles, and when she opened them, she met Percy’s gaze and he seemed to know what she was thinking about. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss into her warm skin, and leaned over to press another kiss to her hair.

“Alright, enough of that, lovebirds. You’ll have plenty of time for that later considering Percy’s going to get you the whole day,” Connor teased.

She carefully cut the cake into even slices and put them onto each plate, while Percy handed them out to their friends. 

She turned back to Percy after cutting another slice and saw an innocent grin on his lips.

“What?” she asked, slightly suspicious.

“Nothing, you’re just very pretty,” he said, easily, moving closer to kiss her. Right before his lips met hers, his hand came up and smeared cake across her cheek. She gasped in surprise and took a handful of cake and smashed it against his face in retaliation. He squawked in indignation and was about to get her again when Clarisse of all people intervened.

“Okay, okay, as much as we’d love to witness a food fight, you both look very pretty and we’d hate to see that ruined before your little date starts.”

Percy conceded, pouting, but Annabeth snuck in one last swipe of frosting across his upper lip, giving him a mustache. He wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out at her playfully while she laughed at how ridiculous he looked.

“Looks like we’ll have to clean each other up,” he muttered as he pulled her close and leaned down.

“NoPE!” Clarisse interjected again. “Not in front of us. Gods, I’m not sure if you two were more nauseating before you got together or after.” Percy and Annabeth took note of the fond, grudging smile on her face.

The next half an hour was spent eating some delicious chocolate cake, laughing, chatting, and teasing. She wondered why they were having cake during breakfast to begin with, but Percy mentioned he was taking her out of camp for the day and wouldn’t be back until late at night so they had to do all of this in the morning. Her first couple years at camp, her friends had thrown little surprise parties for her, but having a surprise party every year meant it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise anymore, so they resorted to regular celebrations. Annabeth was pulled into tight hugs by all her close friends. Even Clarisse opened up her arms and crushed Annabeth with them. At some point Tyson showed up and nearly cracked her ribs once again, but he was so adorable and excited she didn’t have the heart to tell him to let go. Grover and Thalia hugged her for a full three minutes. They were her oldest friends and she loved them so, so much. Connor pulled her into a tight hug, too. Hanging around Luke all the time growing up meant she was closely acquainted with the son of Hermes. He liked to pull pranks on her, especially, because he knew she could take it and it was fun trying to find ways to outsmart her. They were as thick as, well, thieves. She released him and stuck out her hand.

“Wallet,” she demanded pointedly.

“Dammit,” he cursed. “One of these days, I’ll get you.”

“I’d like to see you try, Stoll.”

After stepping out of Chiron’s tight embrace and nearly tearing up at his proud words for her, she and Percy headed out together.

“So, what do you have planned?”

“How do you feel about rollercoasters, long lines, and carnival games?”

“Coney Island?” she asked, curious. He had taken her there before on a date and it’s safe to say they both had more than enough stuffed animals in their possession.

“Even better. Six Flags.”

She had never been to Six Flags but she’d seen pictures of all those ginormous rollercoasters. It sounded fun. Annabeth was a rollercoaster enthusiast. She loved the adrenaline-rush. Percy did enjoy big rides but not to the extent she did. But today was about her.

“First, we’re gonna stop at home. Mom, Paul, and Stella would never forgive me if I didn’t bring you by.”

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They walked to the stables hand-in-hand so they could ride Blackjack to his apartment.

_ Hey, Boss. And Lady Boss, _ Blackjack greeted once they got closer.

“Hey, Blackjack,” Percy responded in kind, feeding the pegasus the sugar cubes he had brought with him. Blackjack nuzzled Annabeth’s hands that had come up to stroke his face. During the months Percy had been gone, Annabeth had grown closer to Blackjack, taking him out on search missions and just spending time at the stables taking care of him. The pegasus had been a connection to Percy and she had clung onto that. Although she didn’t verbally understand Blackjack, she had gotten pretty good at inferencing what he was saying.

_ Where do you want to take the pretty lady to today? _

“My apartment. And yes, I’ll get you donuts for when you pick us up.”

That was all the convincing Blackjack needed, as he took off as soon as Annabeth and Percy mounted him.

She closed her eyes, letting the cool, crisp air of the upper atmosphere run over her body. Her hair blew wildly in the wind and she prayed her curls didn’t look like a mess after she got off. Curse Percy for effortlessly pulling off the windswept look.

They arrived at the Jackson-Blofis apartment and were immediately greeted by a widely grinning Sally who pulled both of them into tight, warm embraces. Annabeth never wanted to leave her arms. The woman knew how to hug. Paul hugged the both of them next and Sally ushered them inside.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Sally wished Annabeth, pressing her lips to the blonde girl’s forehead in a motherly kiss. Annabeth let the feeling of warmth wash over and was grateful for having a woman like Sally in her life, who was the closest to a mother figure she’d ever get. Sally regarded Annabeth as her own daughter. They had grown impossibly close when Percy had been missing and shared a bond outside their connection to the son of Poseidon.

Sally picked up Estelle who was playing on the family room carpet with a variety of trinkets, mostly trying to put them into her mouth. The brown haired woman gently pried the toys out of her daughters hands and brought her over to the teenagers. Estelle was immediately smothered in kisses from both of them as they took turns holding her.

Estelle gurgled happily as Annabeth cradled the baby in her arms. Warm eyes so similar to her mother’s stared back up at Annabeth’s smiling face. Estelle babbled unintelligible noises and shrieked happily when Annabeth tickled her sides gently with one hand.

“Hi, Stella,” she cooed, obviously taken by the baby’s cuteness. Estelle babbled and reached up, grabbing a lock of Annabeth’s hair, and pulled. Annabeth tried not to swear as Percy helped pry the baby’s tight grip from her hair because  _ damn _ , that hurt. Annabeth cursed herself for forgetting to tie her hair up.

Percy made a  _ tsk _ -ing sound and said to Stella in a baby voice, “We don’t pull hair, Stella. That’s not good. And you’re a good girl, right? If you keep doing that, you’re going to make Annabeth cry. Do you want Annabeth to cry?”

He said all this very seriously, as if Estelle was going to process a word he was saying.  _ Gods _ , he was the cutest big brother ever. It wasn’t fair.

Annabeth rolled her eyes with a fond smile. “It’s okay, she didn’t mean it. Right, Stella?” she asked in her baby voice, ticking the girl’s chubby little stomach again. Stella squirmed happily in her arms. Percy watched their interaction with the softest smile on his face and resisted the urge to pepper their faces with kisses.

Annabeth was content to spend the whole day like this, but Percy announced it was gift-giving time. Annabeth hadn’t even thought that they’d all get her gifts and she opened her mouth to say it wasn’t necessary at all, but Percy cut her off.

“Mom, you go first,” he gestured to Sally. They had all gathered on the couch, presents in hand. Annabeth almost teared up. She had never felt so naturally included in a family before. The whole scene was so domestic.

Sally reached down and handed her a bag. “I thought this might match your necklace.”

Annabeth reached in and pulled out two small jewelry boxes. One of them contained a pair of gold and red coral earrings and the other was a ring of a complimentary design. They were simply beautiful.

“Thank you so much, Sally,” Annabeth said, gratitude clear in her voice.

“Don’t even mention it, sweetheart. It’s a long overdue thank you for keeping me sane for eight months.”

It was Paul’s turn next. He presented her a limited edition book that Annabeth had wanted to get her hands on for a while. He had acquired it through one of his teaching colleagues. Reading something that wasn’t in ancient Greek was always difficult, but she was more than happy to take her time with this one.

Percy took her hands in his and told her, “I’m saving mine for later.” Sally glanced at them with a knowing smile.

Eventually, after Annabeth thanking them profusely for everything and getting pulled into another round of hugs, they left the apartment hand-in-hand. Percy opened the passenger side door to Paul’s Prius for Annabeth and she humored him with a fond roll of her eyes. He jogged over to the driver’s side and hopped in.

“I know it’s faster to take Blackjack to Jersey, but we have time. And I wanna introduce you to my new playlist.”

And so they enjoyed the drive there, Annabeth making fun of Percy for his awful singing and voice cracks every time he tried to match Patrick Stump’s bellow or Brendon Urie’s falsetto, not that he was really trying. Even if it didn’t sound great, she loved listening to his voice, the carefreeness and goofiness behind it. While Annabeth wasn’t a trained singer, Percy thought she had an angelic voice. It was really whispery, soft, and melodious, washing a sense of peace and comfort over him. She had trouble with deeper notes, considering her voice was high to begin with and her singing voice was even higher, but she sounded so pretty he was content listening to her.

Driving with Annabeth around was honestly a Herculean task due to the sheer number of distractions that were begging him to pull his attention away from the road. Her golden curls shone in the sunlight, her top was riding low, and her toned legs were kicked up on the dash giving him plenty to ogle. Not to mention the not-so-innocent hand that was resting on his thigh, it’s warmth searing into his skin through his jeans, as he did his best to pretend it wasn’t there.

He wasn’t very successful.

She  _ knew _ what she was doing but chose not to acknowledge it.

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Percy almost cried in relief when they finally were allowed into the vast parking space of the amusement park after waiting for nearly a half hour in a long line of cars. He pulled into the parking space he was directed to and went to the trunk to retrieve the drawstring bag he packed filled with water bottles, their wallets, the snack he snuck into the secret zipper, and Annabeth’s phone. After waiting in yet another winding line for security checks and check-in, mindlessly listening to the faint screams of people on coasters, and goofing around with Annabeth, Percy finally stepped foot inside Six Flags Great Adventure.

He turned to his girlfriend who seemed to be buzzing with excitement. “What do you want to hit up first?”

“Nitro, obviously.” Once he had told her where they were going earlier, she had spent the car ride looking up all the attractions the park had to offer.

By 3:00 pm, they had hit up most of the major rollercoasters. Annabeth’s favorite was a tie between Nitro and Superman. Percy wasn’t sure what his favorite was, but his least favorite was The Joker, a ride that pivoted and flipped them upside down in their seats like they were spokes on a spinning axle. Annabeth loved it, though. She had also convinced him to go on Green Lantern which was a coaster you rode while standing. Percy was hesitant but one look at her big, pleading grey eyes and cute, little pout, and he was a goner. As if he ever stood a chance, especially with her looking like that. And how could he deny her on her birthday? He instantly regretted his decision because the ride made his crotch hurt since he didn’t adjust the height correctly.

Naturally, she roped him into trying a bunch of things he wasn’t keen on trying. Like Kingda Ka, for example, which just happened to be the tallest rollercoaster in the world. He almost shit his pants when Annabeth told him about that little fun fact. While she was busy admiring the design and structure of the coaster, he tried psyching himself up. Because holy  _ shit _ that was tall. He suppressed the urge to get out of line and ignored his gut screaming at him to hop off before the car started moving. But he ended up having a lot of fun anyway, with Annabeth’s laughs and shrieks resonating in his ear. The ride was insanely fast; they were back at the station in what seemed like a matter of seconds. He was downright  _ terrified _ during the drop, but Annabeth was gripping his hand tightly and it was over before he knew it.

Percy grabbed her hand and led her away from the colossal structure. “So, birthday girl, how do you feel about lunch?”

“Weren’t you ready to puke, like, five minutes ago?”

“Is this the treatment I get for being nice to you?”

She stuck her tongue out at him, like a mature person would, and he did it right back because he, too, was very mature. He reached out and tickled her sides in retaliation, until she was uncontrollably giggling, swatting his hands away. They were lucky it wasn’t too hot out, but all their walking had made them sweat a little bit. His eyes traced the beads of sweat that pooled at her collarbone and he resisted the urge to lean forward and—

_ Get a hold of yourself _ , he chided himself.  _ But since when was sweat so attractive? _

They made their way to a Panda Express that was overpriced but  _ delicious _ . They ordered a large plate of food and settled into a booth, sitting on the same side. After they had stuffed their stomachs full of orange and pineapple chicken and fried rice, Percy took her to a Johnny Rockets nearby.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Percy, we literally  _ just _ ate.”

“I know, I know, Beth. But you haven’t lived until you’ve tried one of their milkshakes.”

The boy had a bottomless stomach, she swore. Where it all went, she had no idea. She reluctantly gave in and when she sipped the Oreo milkshake they ordered, she did  _ not _ regret it one bit. It was  _ heavenly _ . Maybe her boyfriend was onto something.

They took turns sipping the sweet drink as they strolled around, hands intertwined, content smiles on their faces. Once they had disposed of it (not before Percy had made loud, slurping noises with the straw to ensure they had, in fact, consumed  _ all _ of the milkshake), they made their way to all the coasters they didn’t go on yet, spending their time in line leaning on each other, playing with each other’s fingers, and laughing at each other’s stupid jokes.

It was starting to turn dark by the time they had visited every free attraction, but they were both still full of energy when he led her to the various tents of carnival games. Of course, they stopped at one of the grabber-arm machines because Annabeth was an absolute  _ beast _ at them. He almost felt sorry for the park. Almost.

Holding her new stuffed whale she was tempted to name  _ Percy _ , much to Percy’s chagrin, she took her boyfriend’s hand and brought him to one of those water gun games. They shared a secret grin. Ok, so  _ maybe _ he cheated.  _ Maybe _ he directed the water to always hit the targets. Sue him. He just wanted to win the best prize there was in the booth for his girlfriend. He had caught her eyeing the very large  _ Flash _ plushie and was determined to win it for her. Thankfully, his powers made that easy. The worker behind the booth asked what prize he wanted and he requested the  _ Flash _ one. Percy handed it to Annabeth, who was grinning happily.

“Aww, so is this the present you were waiting to give me mostly because you hadn’t gotten it yet?” She didn’t sound disappointed at all, because she was genuinely content with just a stuffed animal as her birthday present from him, which made him smirk a little bit.

“Yes,” he said, with a completely straight face.

He took her hand and led her to a large setup with a raised platform and a big hammer tool. The guy manning the station explained that the thermometer-like scale behind him would reflect how hard you hit the hammer on the platform. The harder you hit, the more the scale would light up. If you if the whole scale lit up, you earned yourself a prize. You had three tries. If anyone could hit that hard, Annabeth could.

Percy stood by holding their prizes in his arms, watching with a smirk as she raised the hammer above her head. The booth guy was watching with a bored expression, but he had definitely underestimated her. This was the girl that had held up the weight of the entire fucking sky for  _ hours _ . But he didn’t know that. The expression on his face when the princess-looking skinny blonde girl managed to light up the whole scale on her first try was comical to the say the least. They left the park with yet another plushie and yet another stunned booth worker. Percy was a little worried about how they’d all fit in the backseat of his car.

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Blackjack dropped them off at camp in record time after they enjoyed a nice, romantic dinner at Annabeth’s favorite Mediterranean restaurant, bought a half dozen donuts at Krispy Kreme, and dropped the Prius at his apartment.

Annabeth left momentarily to change into more comfortable clothes and returned with her Yankees cap to sneak into his cabin.

She joined him on the bed, the sides of their legs pressing together. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. “It’s time for your presents.”

“Presents? Plural? Percy, you already made me a cake, brought me to an amusement park, won me a bunch of prizes, and took me out to dinner. You’ve already done so much I’m a little nervous at how my plans for your birthday are going to measure up.”

He gave her a soft smile. “And you deserve all that and more. Besides, you didn’t really get to celebrate your birthday last year so I wanted to make this year’s extra special.” He reached over into his nightstand and produced a little velvet pouch. He stuck his fingers in and took out two identical rings that seemed to be made of Celestial bronze. They were beautiful and delicate-looking. Inside, there were neat engravings in ancient Greek. In the dim light of his cabin, she squinted and made them out to be “Seaweed Brain” and “Wise Girl”. Of course.

“Y’know...for all the shitty luck that’s been thrown our way, for all the terrible, horrifying stuff we’ve had to go through cause of our parentage...I feel like all that bad has been balanced out by the good. And I know that’s a crazy thing to say considering how much we’ve gone through basically our entire lives...” he paused and took a shaky breath, twisting his body so he could look her directly in the face, and continued, ”but the Fates gave me  _ you _ and  _ that _ was a gift like no other. I’d go through everything I’ve gone through a million times over if it meant getting to live this life with you now. Getting to have the future that we never imagined we’d get to have. Together.”

Both their eyes had started to well up, and when Annabeth blinked, a tear splashed onto the pillow underneath. He gently reached an arm up and dried her cheek, leaning forward to press a whisper of a kiss under her right eye.

He then cradled her head and smoothed her hair back, continuing, “Fuck, Beth, you’ve been my ride-or-die basically ever since I met you. I mean, it took us a few days, but still. You’ve always had my back, even when we didn’t know each other that well, and you promised to continue always having my back even if it meant going against your mom. And this was all in the middle of our first quest together. Since then, you’ve been the  _ best _ best friend a guy could ask for, the best partner-in-crime a guy could ask for, the best girlfriend a guy could ask for, and the best  _ anchor _ a guy could ask for. You’ve kept me grounded in more ways than one. If it weren’t for you, I…,” he trailed off, but she understood what he meant. She nodded, reaching out to brush a lock of his wavy hair out of his face and kept her hand there, tangled in his wild black mane.

“Anyway, what I mean to say is, no amount of bad can outweigh the sheer happiness and satisfaction I feel when I’m laying here in my cabin after a day of adventure, the fun kind I mean, next to my favorite person. I love you  _ so  _ fucking _ much _ ...you’re family, you’re the best part of me, Beth. I don’t want to even  _ think _ about living in a world without you in it. Your mom once told me that I would destroy the world to save the people I love. And she was right, as usual. A world without you in it isn’t a world worth saving. And maybe that’s a dangerous thought, but it’s a fact. You give me the strength to get up every day and face everything I do. You deserve more than I could ever give you but I’m gonna try my damn hardest to give you everything you want. So I got us these rings as a promise of what’s in store for our future and a reminder of what’s most important. I understand if you don’t want to wear it, it is kind of a big step. I promise I’ll buy you a nicer ring when I actually propose—I mean—sorry, forget I said that—“

“Seaweed Brain,” she whispered, endeared, her heart so full it might just shatter. She leaned forward and pressed a swift kiss to his lips in reassurance. He saw the look in her eye and her outstretched hand and grinned. With that, he slipped her ring onto her waiting finger and let her slip his ring onto his finger. 

Annabeth had so many things she wanted to say to the boy in front of her, the sweet  _ sweet _ boy (with the sweet  _ sweet _ smile) who valued her over anything else. One part of her was overwhelmed with affection for him and the other part thought,  _ Fuck, what do I do for  _ his _ birthday? _ She wanted to reciprocate every word of conviction he’d just said to her, but any coherent thought she had left her brain except  _ I love you, I love you, I love you _ . And so she surged forward and pressed her lips to his, pouring every emotion she couldn’t properly express in words into that kiss. No pretty, flowery words could do the love they had for each other justice. Their bond ran deeper than a love between best friends or partners; it was something that had stemmed out of desperation, trust, loyalty, faith, admiration, and complete and utter devotion.

When he returned her kiss with just as much vigor and pulled her warm body closer to his, wrapping her up in his arms, he was sure no one could love anyone else the way he loved her. The intensity of the feeling was just... _ ineffable _ . But they did their best to convey it in their passionate, desperate kisses, loving caresses, playful teasing, soft sweet nothings whispered into each other’s ears, and in the way they  _ worshipped _ each other in the dim glow of the gurgling fountain reflecting the moonlight beaming through the windows. When she pulled off his shirt and chucked it somewhere on the floor of his cabin, he leaned down to suck on her neck as she smoothed her palms over his abs and shoulders, but suddenly stiffened, pausing his ministrations.

“Wait. Fuck, I completely forgot. You and your kisses—“

“What?” Annabeth questioned, puzzled and a little annoyed he had stopped right when he had found that spot on her neck that felt  _ so _ good—

“Your last present.” Before she could ask, he turned around and she was met with the tantalizing sight of his flexed back muscles that a shot of desire coursing through her body. For a moment she was too distracted to notice what he was trying to show her. Then her eyes met a shape of black ink covering his former Achilles heel. There was a small anchor resting on the spot, the area around it slightly red. She understood the meaning at once.

“Wow—I—“ she paused, trying to form an intelligible thought. “When did you get this?”

“A few days ago. It was a spur of the moment thing. But. I was hoping you’d like it cause y’know—it’s obviously for you.”

She reached out a finger to trace the slightly raised skin of the tattoo and Percy shivered. Normally, tattoos took much longer to heal, but demigod healing and ambrosia had its perks.

“I  _ love  _ it. It’s beautiful. You didn’t have to do that. I—thank you,” she choked out.

He turned back around to face her and took her face in his hands and kissed her soundly. “Of course. It’s just another little part of you to carry around with me everywhere.”

She laughed softly, “Wait, didn’t you have to get parental consent for this?”

He winced slightly. “Yeah, that was an interesting conversation. But Mom agreed because a) she knew I’d never regret it, b) it’s pretty small, and c) I already have a really large, obvious one burned into my forearm so what’s one more?”

She laughed and pulled his warm body into her arms. “That’s really sweet. And  _ really _ sexy.”

“Yeah?” His lips pulled up into a teasing smile, any nervousness in his eyes evaporating.

“Yeah,” she whispered and closed the distance between them.

He pulled away to say, “Well I guess I better get on it. I want to give you as many orgasms as birthdays you’ve had.”

“ _ What? _ ” she choked out, incredulously. “ _ Eighteen? _ That’s just impossible.”

“Ok, you may have a point. Fine, one for every other birthday.”

“ _ Nine _ is still a  _ lot _ ,” she reasoned. “And impossible. We’d be up all night.”

“You say that like it’s supposed to deter me.”

She let out a disbelieving laugh at her ridiculous, sweet, ridiculously sweet boyfriend. Well, if he was offering….

After all was said and done several hours into the night, they lay intertwined to the point where it was hard to tell where one body started and the other ended. Annabeth rested her head on his bare chest which was covered in a sheen of sweat from the intensity of the last few hours, and one of her fingers reached behind his back and gently traced what used to be his Achilles spot, which now had ink dedicated to her stretching across his tan skin.

Even though he had long since lost his heel, he swore her touch still made him feel like it did when he first showed her his weak spot on that hotel balcony, like a thousand volts of electricity arcing through his body from that one focal point. Despite everything they just did, everything they had done together, her close presence never failed to make his heart hammer in his chest and his brain turn to mush. He wondered if he would ever get used to being with the most brilliant, gorgeous girl in the world, and after a second of pondering, he concluded ’ _ No _ .’ He’d never understand what he did to deserve her even though she insisted she was the one who didn’t deserve him. But what mattered was they were meant for each other, regardless of their self-doubts. And as nervous and excited as they made each other feel, they also felt like  _ home _ . It was a comfortable, warm feeling that balanced out the exhilaration and giddiness.

They let the cool air of the faintly thrumming fan wash over their heated bodies as their heartbeats returned to a relatively normal rhythm. Percy held her close and tried not to think about the curves and edges of her perfect body slotting into his. So, of course, he went and ruined the moment.

“So you just had sex with a minor, you absolute  _ cougar _ ,” he teased, his usual troublemaker smile returning to his face.

She tilted her head up so she could face him and warned him, “You better watch you say next. My dagger is right there. And as much as you wore me out, I still have enough energy to beat you up. In fact, I am this close to shoving you off the bed.”

He laughed, a rich, genuine sound that reverberated from deep within his chest, and she thought she’d do anything to keep hearing that sound even if it meant enduring merciless teasing.

He kept talking, unperturbed, “I’m dating an older woman  _ and _ I just got her in bed with me. Wow, I have some serious game.”

She shoved his chest playfully and rolled her eyes, trying not let her lips twitch into a smile.

“Perseus Jackson, I swear to the gods if you call me  _ old _ one more time—,” the rest of her words were muffled by him leaning down to cover her mouth with his in a hot, searing kiss that she felt down to her toes. It took her breath away and wiped anything she wanted to say from her mind. She  loved hated that he had that kind of power, but she welcomed his interruption.

“You know I love it when you get all scary and  _ I’m-gonna-kill-you _ on me. And when you call me  _ Perseus _ , in this context at least. It’s so  _ hot _ .”

“You have questionable turn-ons.”

“That’s just the effect you have on me.”

“Shut your annoying ass up and kiss me.”

“Yes ma’am. After all, I was always taught to respect my elders—,” his joking jab was cut off when Annabeth gripped her fingers tightly in his soft raven hair and pushed his head down to hers as they meshed their lips together. Her kisses were bruising, in the best way possible. She rolled over on top of him and he settled one of his hands on her hips while the other mapped her body, tracing the hard lines of her abs, the soft curves of her chest, and the headed lower.

She broke off their kiss with a teasing, winning grin, “How are you ready to go  _ already _ ?”

“Godly genes. And like I said, that’s just the effect you have on me. Even if you’re an older woman—,” she cut him off again, digging her fingers into the small of his back, as he let out a strangled gasp of pleasure.

It’s safe to say he didn’t get to do much teasing after that. Not that he minded in the slightest. This was a much,  _ much _ better alternative. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered how it could be her birthday when  _ he _ was the one that was feeling this good.

Eventually, they were drifting off into a sleep void of nightmares, thoroughly sated and, this time, fully worn out. They encased each other in an embrace that radiated nothing but warmth and tenderness, his fingers resting on her coral pendant and hers splayed over the small of his back, tracing his tattoo. Their other hands were interlocked, fingers tracing the cool metal of each other’s rings that held so much meaning. A reminder of something permanent.


End file.
